There's what MPs talk about in the Chamber, and what they talk about with each other. On Thursday the topic in the tearooms was the way Barack Obama had called George Osborne "Jeffrey" three times at the G8 summit, confusing him with the soul singer Jeffrey Osborne, purveyor of elevator music to Holiday Inns around the world. Obviously Labour loved the humiliation for the chancellor.

It seems a strange mistake for the most powerful man in the world to make. For example, the singer is African-American, while the chancellor is Anglo-Irish in origin. The singer is bald; the chancellor has wonderful flowing hair. The real Jeffrey's best known song is On The Wings Of Love, which was a huge international hit. The chancellor's best known number is On The Wings Of Ludicrously Inflated Quantitative Easing, which has not been a hit with anyone. Also the singer has never been depicted in a Guardian cartoon in full bondage gear.

Labour's joy could only have been greater if the president had referred to our prime minister as "Diaz" mistaking him for the blonde female film star. Only slightly more unlikely a confusion, I feel.

While MPs were having a stodgy session on culture, media and sport, Jeffrey Osborne (the singer) was offering to perform a duet with Jeff (the chancellor.) Our Osborne decided to show himself a good sport, and tweeted, "Jeff, you wouldn't suggest a duet if you had heard me sing!" The chancellor might have to change his name again – he was christened Gideon – and you can get odds of 50,000-1 at Ladbrokes that he will. They're also offering 3-1 that someone in the chamber will call him "Jeff", though this has already started, when Angela Eagle, shadow leader of the House, demanded to know when "Jeffrey" would make a statement on bankers' bonuses.

And Labour MPs leaped upon Nick Clegg's failure to denounce Charles Saatchi on the radio for his apparent assault on his wife Nigella. He was asked what he would have done if he had been in the restaurant where the incident happened. The correct answer of course is "I would have intervened immediately then called the police," despite the fact that no one else in the restaurant did any such thing. It was, he said just "one photograph" and the event "may have been fleeting".

Labour MPs, led by Yvette Cooper, leaped upon this. No doubt they have the highest motives. At the same time, I would point out that the polls show women are deserting the coalition at a considerable rate, and anything that makes Cameron and Clegg look like chauvinists – or even just insensitive boors – can only help the process.

One of the few women in the cabinet, Maria Miller, was answering culture questions. She is known as "the beige lady" but on Thursday was wearing a bright pink jacket, allowing me to reprise the line "I have seen the fuchsia, and it works". (The jacket will not prevent what is assumed to be her imminent demotion, however, another blow for women.)

Ms Eagle also pointed out that with the elevation of Andrew Stunnell (who? He was one of the Lib Dem coalition negotiators in 2010) some 14% of Lib Dem MPs are now knights. This is a higher proportion of their MPs than there are women. Bingo! It was a very happy day for Labour.